A trip to the market!

Our honorary Mallorquines have had a busy first few days on program! They have gotten accustomed to the local cuisine, the Biology and Spanish classes and are feeling at home in their host families houses. They've completed orientation, learned what it means to be a Global Navigator and signed the Spanish Language Pledge. As they've learned to manage the city in all its historic beauty, today marked a special day as we took a light walk to one of the most emblematic places in Palma de Mallorca, El Mercado Calívar. 

El Mercado Calívar was founded in 1905 in an area that was originally inhabited by fishermen. It is the oldest market in Palma and shares a rich maritime and culinary history interwoven within the walls of the beautiful city. Today, the market serves many purposes, it serves as a market for locals to buy fresh and local ingredients such as vegetables, fish and meats for their Mediterranean diet, a meeting place to have a café between friends or even a place for tourists to walk around and sample some of the highlights of the local cuisine. 

Our Global Navigators were sent on a mission by their host families to buy several local ingredients to bring back to form part of that evening's dinner. Some were tasked with finding local cheese, honey, fruits or vegetables such as the white asparagus, broccoli, bananas, apples, legumes and peppers. These ingredients would then serve as a major portion of that evening's meal! 

While they browsed through the rows of fish, meat, vegetable and fruit stands, they took in all of the great smells, sights and bright colors the market has to offer. Once they completed their shopping, they were tasked with completing a scavenger hunt which included talking to local vendors to find out more about their products and the typical prices. As they mentioned in their Market debrief, this was quite far off from the Walmart and Costco we know so well in the US!

This group of outstanding, intelligent and outgoing Global Navigators are truly taking advantage of their time in Palma and carry an energy and enthusiasm with them that is truly contagious.